


One Day, You'll be Proud of Me

by penstrikesmidnight



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Alternate Universe - Ballet, Getting Together, M/M, Rivals to Lovers, Tsukishima Kei is Bad at Feelings
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-14
Updated: 2020-02-14
Packaged: 2021-02-27 21:14:18
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,233
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22722268
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/penstrikesmidnight/pseuds/penstrikesmidnight
Summary: Kei doesn't know when he stopped loving ballet, and he doesn't know why watching Hinata makes him feel like he wants to again. He just wants to go about his regularly scheduled day with no interruptions.Hinata kind of makes that impossible.
Relationships: Hinata Shouyou/Tsukishima Kei
Comments: 10
Kudos: 121





	One Day, You'll be Proud of Me

**Author's Note:**

  * For [writedeku](https://archiveofourown.org/users/writedeku/gifts).



Kei Tsukishima hated having to come back to the practice rooms after dinner. He had a set routine for his evenings, which included homework and meditation before showering, then unwinding with an hour of whatever he felt like doing that didn't involve ballet before bed. If he needed extra practice he tried to schedule the private room in their dorm ahead of time, and if he couldn't, he made due dancing around the sparse furniture in his tiny dorm room.

But there he was, watching his competition for Romeo in _Romeo and Juliet_ at Yamaguchi's insistence. "You haven't watched anyone, not even once," Yamaguchi pointed out, as if Kei cared about the role that much. "C'mon, Tsukki, let's go for at least an hour."

So Kei had given in, and now he sat on the hard wooden floor in one of the larger dance rooms, his eyes on the clock more than his fellow students. The only reason he was trying out for a role outside of the _Corps de Ballet_ was because Ms. Leroux had recommended him for the position. Since she was a family friend, who was he to say no? He was a sophomore, and he did not have any delusions about being good enough to surpass a junior or senior to get the part. 

As soon as the hour hit, Kei stood, gathered his backpack, and walked toward the door. He heard Yamaguchi scramble to catch up with him, but he was still slightly miffed at how Yamaguchi had made Kei come down here at all, so he didn't slow his brisk pace.

"Wasn't Suga beautiful?" Yamaguchi said when he caught up, a hint of longing in his tone. Yamaguchi loved dancing, but he wasn't particularly outstanding, which made Kei feel slightly guilty at the fact that he was great at it, but didn't love it like his best friend did.

"Suga is always beautiful, and he's going to get the part," Kei said, his tone more biting than he had anticipated. He adjusted his glasses on his nose. 

Yamaguchi gripped onto his backpack straps and stopped talking. Kei glanced over and noticed Yamaguchi's fallen expression. He was about to say something to break the weird silence, to reassure Yamaguchi that he was not as upset as he appeared, when he heard music coming from a rarely used hallway.

Kei's eyebrows creased when he saw the open curiosity on Yamaguchi's face. Usually, Yamaguchi knew everything that happened over in the practice rooms, so seeing him confused was an oddity. Silently, Kei made his way toward the source of the music.

They stopped in front of one of the smaller rooms people tried to steer clear of because the lighting was horrible and the speaker only worked when it felt like it. A short boy with bright orange hair was doing a jumping combination across the floor. Kei watched, mesmerized by the way his arms and legs seemed to elongate in the air. He had a really good jump for someone his height, and beautiful control...

And then he slid and fell on his butt.

Yamaguchi put his hands up to his mouth to stifle a giggle. Kei rolled his eyes. The boy jumped up and turned toward the door, eyes wide.

Yamaguchi gave an aborted wave as Kei nodded his head in greeting, then pushed Yamaguchi out of the doorway. From the corner of his eye, Kei saw the orange-haired boy raise his hand, but before anyone could utter a word, Kei and Yamaguchi were gone.

"That's the scholarship boy," Yamaguchi said before Kei had to decide whether or not it was worth the effort of asking. "Shouyou Hinata. Apparently, he's going to move up to our class because Mr. Haines says he thinks he will be good enough to get an ensemble part. Did you know he has had barely any proper dance instruction?"

"Hopefully he can keep up," Kei said. "You should stop listening to rumors."

"Sorry, Tsukki," Yamaguchi replied cheerfully, his mood bounced back. "We'll have to see what happens in a few weeks!"

Kei was not looking forward to that in the slightest. Hopefully he could just go about his normal routine without any distractions.

***

Unfortunately, Kei began seeing Hinata _everywhere_.

"What's that phenomenon called?" Kei asked Yamaguchi as they watched Hinata run down the hall with his dance shoes clutched in his hand. "The one where once you know about something, you see it wherever you go?"

"Baader-Meinhof," Yamaguchi responded promptly. "Or, the frequency bias."

"I don't know how you know that, but sure. That one. It's like he's everywhere at once."

"I don't know," Yamaguchi said with a shrug. "He's really nice. Kind of forgetful. Easily excitable."

Kei clicked his tongue against his teeth. "It's the worst. How does he have so much energy?"

Yamaguchi shrugged. "Maybe if you had that kind of energy, you would come practice with me." Kei gave him a dirty look that Yamaguchi ignored. "Are you ready for auditions tomorrow?"

"Yeah," Kei said. Truthfully, he hadn't really thought about it much. He tried not to think too much before an audition, because all it caused was anxiety and anger. Instead, he listened to his pieces, did some light meditating, and pretended like he already had the role and was just performing it for a small audience. No expectations meant no disappointment.

"Sorry, Tsukki. But at least you'll get an ensemble part, if nothing else."

Kei didn't look at Yamaguchi as he packed away his homework. "You'll get in the ensemble."

He darted a brief glance over at Yamaguchi as he stood up. He was smiling down at his paper, and Kei knew it wasn't because of the math. "Thanks Tsukki."

"I'm going to bed."

On his way up the stairs to his room, he almost collided with Hinata as he raced down the stairs. "Watch where you're going!" Kei said.

"Sorry! Hey, you're trying out for Romeo tomorrow, aren't you? I'm so jealous, your lines are always so perfect! Anyway, good luck!" And with that Hinata ran the rest of the way down the stairs, to what, Kei could only guess, since lights out happened in twenty minutes.

He wondered how Hinata knew who he was. _Why_ he knew who he was.

Kei's family weren’t strangers to the school. The Tsukishimas were talented artists, most recently focusing on dance, but his grandmother had been a famous cellist and he had a great-uncle who had paintings on display at some fancy museums in California. Kei had grown up knowing his family had a legacy and doing everything he could to support them without having to invest too much of himself into it.

But Hinata had not said anything about his family. He hadn't even called him by name. He had just referred to the fact that he knew Kei by his dancing before darting away. "Idiot," he muttered, flipping to a calmer playlist, one he used only in dire situations. He wasn't sure if he were calling himself the idiot, or Hinata. Either way, he didn't have the time or energy to spare for these racing thoughts. He had a performance tomorrow. Just because he didn't want the part didn't mean he wasn't going to give it at least a decent shot. 

***

"You got the understudy role, Tsukki!" Yamaguchi crowed when he found Kei in the mess of students crowded around the bulletin board in the common room on Monday morning. "Kind of the best of both worlds, right?"

"I guess," he said, noticing Hinata's name under _Corps de Ballet_ right as Hinata himself whooped in excitement just in front of them. Yamaguchi's name was a few above Hinata's. "I told you you'd get an ensemble part."

Kei watched as Suga made his way over to them to give Hinata a hug. "That's awesome! I'm so happy for you. And Kei! You'll be a great understudy."

Kei mumbled thanks, his cheeks flushed in embarrassment. He pushed his glasses up his nose, trying to get the attention off of him.

"Wooow," Hinata said, turning to the three of them huddled together. "Yamaguchi, you made it too! I'm so excited to learn from all of you. But Tsukki...!"

"It's Tsukishima," Kei said tightly, glaring at Suga when he stifled a laugh.

"Sorry, Tsukishima. It's amazing that you got the understudy role! I'm so jealous! One day, I'm going to be as good as you, you'll see."

Hinata's face had fallen into a stern expression that sent shivers down Kei's spine. He stood up straighter, adjusting his glasses again, this time more deliberately. "You have a lot of work to do, then. Better start climbing now, because I'm not going to wait for you."

With that he stalked away to breakfast, Yamaguchi trailing behind him. Where did Hinata get off, throwing down a gauntlet of competition like that, as if they were about to duel? They weren't even on the same _level_ , Kei could clearly outperform Hinata at anything. 

So why was he giving this a second thought?

"You seemed a little excited this morning," Yamaguchi said. Kei was hyperaware that Yamaguchi was referencing his response to Hinata, but was allowing Kei to talk about it or shut the idea down. "Maybe having some fresh blood in the cast will give you some inspiration."

"I'm not lacking inspiration," Kei said, but the words rang too true to be convincing. At this point, Kei felt like he was here for every other reason except because he wanted to be. He didn't want to let his family down, he didn't want to quit something he was so good at, he didn't want this money to go to waste.

Why was he even here anymore? Why was he dancing?

He thought about the unbridled joy on Hinata's face the first time they had seen him in that dim practice room. When had Kei lost the spark he usually felt when nailing something he had worked so hard on? And how could he ever find it again?

Yamaguchi shrugged his shoulders, turning his attention to his food. "I mean, everyone goes through a time they need to sort themselves out. Maybe this is just yours."

Kei glared at Yamaguchi, who stared back at him for a few seconds before moving onto another subject. Kei scowled into his breakfast for the rest of the meal, trying not to think about his artistic crisis. All he had to do was get through high school, and then he could be free to shed the skin of his family legacy, start over fresh.

The thought weighed heavily on him instead of setting him free. Why was it, when he tried to find a way out of these feelings, this situation, he always circled back to the same place, which was right here, at a metaphorical fork in the road that he had created himself?

He had other things to worry about. These were all just dumb high school feelings anyway.

***

His schedule filled up with extra practices, now that he was learning Suga's part as well as his own. He didn't find it particularly taxing, only more annoying.

"You look great technically," Suga told him about three weeks into their practices, "but there isn't a lot of Tsukishima in it."

"I'm not the one dancing the part," Kei replied as he changed his shoes. Suga sat down next to him, proceeding to do the same.

"You don't know whether or not I'll be able to perform. What if I get sick? What if I fall down the stairs tomorrow and break my leg?"

Kei raised his eyebrows. "Are you planning on having a freak accident? Because I know that unless you're on the brink of dying, you are going to be on that stage performing. You love it too much. You _all_ love it too much."

Suga didn't say anything. After a few minutes, Kei looked over to see Suga meticulously tying his shoe. "I think you love dancing more than you want to admit, and that's fine. I just don't want to see you miss an opportunity because you're holding yourself back. Anyway, see you tomorrow, same time? I have a date Friday, so we'll have to reschedule for the weekend."

Kei nodded. Suga stood and picked up his bag. "By the way," Suga said casually, "Hinata is starting to really improve. I wouldn't be surprised if he became an audience favorite, even though he's so untrained. The audience loves heart, and he has enough of it for everyone."

With that, Suga waved goodbye, leaving Kei stunned to silence.

"Tch," he said into the empty room, gathering his stuff as well. He flipped off the lights on his way out. Why would Suga even bring that up?

On his way back to the dorms, he noticed Hinata was practicing pirouettes in the same practice room Kei and Yamaguchi had stumbled across him that first time. He watched as Hinata tried and failed a few times. His determination was something to be admired, Kei grudgingly thought to himself as he watched Hinata's pirouettes balance out after several attempts. But if he would just tightened his core, his balance would improve quicker. And his turn out was something to be desired. Kei sighed.

He noticed Hinata turning around as he left, but he didn't turn back. He was pretty sure if Hinata asked for help, he would go back, and he doesn't have time for that.

***

As per usual, classwork began ramping up with the addition of a performance on the horizon. Kei tried to stay as under the radar as possible, doing as much as he could to not get yelled at by Mr. Haines or Ms. Ritcher, but also making sure to stay in that sweet middle, where he also wasn't getting recognized by his talent. He didn't want that kind of anxiety placed on his shoulders.

Hinata, unfortunately, became the scapegoat for most of the teacher's wrath. _"You look like a moose trying to move like a gazelle", "If you don't keep that back straight I'm going to tape you to a wall for the night", "A five year old could do this better than that", "Maybe you were the wrong decision after all."_

Kei wondered how Hinata took it all in stride, his cheerfulness never gone for long. It was as if he could take everybody's criticism and transform it into the joyful energy he always seemed to radiate. It made Kei tired just watching him nod his head, orange flyaways bouncing everywhere, as one teacher after another gave him a laundry list of things to work on.

"Why put in so much effort? Why not just try again for the end of year performance?" Kei asked Yamaguchi as they watched Hinata come out of Ms. Leroux's office, his expression miserable, the first time Kei had see him so visibly upset. When Hinata noticed Yamaguchi and Kei looking his way, he braved a smile. Kei was pretty sure Hinata was going to burst into tears as soon as he was alone.

He didn't like seeing Hinata like this. It was as if the ground under him had decided to shift without warning him, leaving him bereft. How, how, _how_ had Hinata crawled so deeply under his skin without speaking more than twenty words to him?

"When you love something, sometimes you make unreasonable decisions about it. But that can lead to great things, too." Yamaguchi had a wistful expression on his face. "I wish I had that much determination."

"That's psychotic," Kei said.

"Well, we can't all be as good as you," Yamaguchi said, his tone teasing, but it still made Kei feel guilty.

"I'm not that great. Come on, let's go. I don't want to talk about Hinata anymore."

Yamaguchi shrugged and changed topics to something else, but Kei was hardly listening. Maybe he wasn't talking about Hinata, but he couldn't get his thoughts to go anywhere else. What would he do if Hinata decided this was too much for him? Why did Kei think that would have any effect on his own skills anyway? They hardly ever associated with one another, Kei could count on one hand the number of shared spaces they had in the ensemble work, and on top of it, Hianta couldn't offer Kei any _skills_ to benefit his dancing.

So what was this obsession growing in him?

He was almost too scared to find out.

***

Usually, Kei ignored Hianta's extra practices, but leaving his own practice with Suga that night, he couldn't stop thinking about Hinata's downtrodden expression as he had left Ms. Leroux's office that afternoon. Kei walked down the hall toward Hinata's usual practice room, almost afraid that he wouldn't find him there, that the last lecture had been the final push to send Hinata back down to intermediate, but sure enough, Hinata was there, albeit a little less excited than usual. Kei stood in the doorway, watching for a few minutes before he couldn't stand it any longer.

"Your posture is terrible," Kei said. Hinata whirled around, eyes wide in surprise. Kei ignored it and walked into the room, shutting the door behind them. Hinata looked at the door, then at Kei, then backed up slightly.

Kei rolled his eyes. "Oh, please, I'm not here to sabotage you. I saw your terrible form so I decided I should let you know."

Hinata's look of suspicion transformed to a look of awe. Kei shifted uncomfortably under his intense gaze. Hinata jumped up and down twice before standing straight at attention. Tsukishima sighed, already exhausted. "At the very least, you should know when you're supposed to be in turn out and when your feet are parallel."

"Ah, my parts are mostly turn out. I just...I just can't figure out how to stop without wobbling or falling, I guess."

"Let me see the ensemble in act two," Kei said, leaning against the mirror and folding his arms. Hinata nodded, took a deep breath, and began dancing.

Like every other time Kei had watched Hinata dance, there was just something so...magnetic about him. His expression was joyful, his face open, his eyes shining. His lines were there, if a little wonky before straightening out. Kei clicked his tongue against his teeth, grudgingly admiring the work Hinata had done by himself _without_ proper guidance. If only he had had good teachers when he was younger.

"Okay stop," Kei said, pushing himself from his perch on the bar. Hinata stumbled with a squeak, then turned back to Kei. "First of all, the things you do in between each movement is important, and you can't stray from it. Even the littlest thing will make you stand out. See the difference?"

Kei demonstrated. Hinata nodded, eyes sharp as he took in every move. Kei watched as Hinata mirrored him. "Like this?"

"Yes. And for heaven's sake, tighten your core."

Kei swatted at Hinata's abdomen with the back of his hand. Hinata gasped, instantly tightening. Kei studied Hinata's face, eyes wide and lips wobbling as he pressed them together in concentration. He had pressed a hand to his mouth, coughing to hide a laugh. Hinata's expression relaxed into something once again closer to worship.

"Do the whole thing, with your core engaged this time," is all Kei said, and Hinata complied.

Kei stopped him four counts in. "Again."

Hinata huffed but tried again. Six counts. "Again."

An infuriatingly long hour and eighteen counts later for Hinata, Kei finally called it quits. "I'm already past my bedtime. See you next week."

"Wait! You're going to come back and help me?" Hinata asked, eyes shining with excitement.

Kei pulled his headphones out of his backpack and over his ears to block out anything else Hinata was saying. "If you tell anyone about this, I'm denying it."

Hinata nodded so vigorously Kei thought his head might come loose from his body. "See you in class!"

Yamaguchi was sitting up in the common area when Kei came into the room. "Where were you?" he asked. Kei shrugged. Yamaguchi didn't seem to mind the non-answer and instead held up his math homework. "Can you help me with this math problem before you go to bed?"

Kei sat down, mindful of his slightly disheveled state. If Yamaguchi knew he had been dancing, he kept it to himself. While Kei was watching Yamaguchi do his math, he plotted out what he would work on with Hinata the next time he saw him.

***

Kei began setting an hour aside on Mondays and Thursdays to work with Hinata. In class, he acted the same as he always did, which meant he ignored most of what Hinata said and denied the things he couldn't. Kei was surprised at the rate of Hinata's progress. It wasn't that he had become perfect, but at least he stopped getting threatened out of the production, which Kei took as a win, and the ground began to steady under his feet again.

One night, about two weeks before their performance, Kei and Hinata sat side by side against the mirror after practice. Kei didn't particularly want to leave yet, mostly because he had a biology test he should study for, and a tiny bit because he kind of liked the cheerfulness Hinata exuded after a job well done. He would never say the words out loud to anyone, though. He would absolutely die if anyone found out.

"Hey, Tsukishima," Hinata said, startling Kei into looking at him. "I don't think you hate dance, or you wouldn't be here. And you're obviously good, because you're an understudy and you are only a sophomore."

Kei waited, tense, for Hinata's question, but Hinata took a swig of water and looked at him as if waiting for an answer, as if he had already asked. "And?"

Hinata blinked owlishly at him. "And I want to be the best! When I'm a senior, I am going to get the lead! Or at least a solo."

"How does your brain even work?" Kei muttered, pressing his glasses up his nose. He stood up, swinging his backpack over his shoulder. "If you're going to be the best, you have a lot of practicing to do. Starting with getting this ensemble together. See you Thursday."

Before Hinata could say anything, Kei turned his music up, cranking it high to drown out any more of Hinata's voice.

Still, the unspoken question permeated the rest of the week. _Do you really hate dancing? Why are you even here? Is this something you want to do forever? When did you decide it wasn't worth it anymore? Or, when did you decide it was again?_ The worst part about this whole situation was that Hinata was too nice to be implying any of the negative thoughts Kei had swimming through his head; he had probably just been curious, and a little jealous of Kei's dancing, and he had probably spoken without thinking about the implications his words could have on Kei.

He avoided Hinata as much as he could until Thursday. He tried to act normal, but he hardly saw Yamaguchi outside of class, which meant that he was being bitter enough that Yamaguchi was waiting for the storm to pass before approaching him.

Kei prided himself in the fact that he was fairly good at covering up his emotions to most everyone except Yamaguchi. But about ten minutes into his and Hinata's stretches during their practice that night, Hinata stopped and turned to him. "Okay. What's wrong? Is it about what I said Monday? Because I'm totally sorry about that, really, and I tried to tell you but you always ran away from me."

Kei ignored him in favor of bending down to hug his calves. It didn't stop Hinata from continuing. "I just...I kind of want to know more about you, is all. How you can be so good and so dedicated to this craft, but so apathetic at the same time. If I had just a drop of your talent, I could do so much better! I could _be_ someone better."

"Stop it," Kei snapped as he stood up, shoving his glasses closer to his eyes, and Hinata pressed his lips together, eyes smoldering with determination. Kei sat down in his splits. "You just need to practice your basics. You don't need to be a whole new person."

Hinata sighed. He sat down as well, off to the side so Kei had to turn his head in order to see him. They spent a few minute in silence before Kei spoke.

"I do like dancing," he said, lying on his stomach in his split stretch. He wouldn't be able to look at Hinata like this, and that meant he could share easier, reveal his emotions in the false safety of his solitude. "I mean, I never really lost my love of it, I don't think. But...The dance world is so competitive. I hate it. It is all about what someone likes, if you vibe with a casting director or if you have a teacher or background that's famous. Why can't I just dance for fun? I've watched my brother tear himself apart for just the smallest roles, until he just couldn't do it anymore. I don't want that. But I don't think I want to stop, either."

Hinata stayed silent, for once in his life. When Tsukishima composed himself, he glanced over at Hinata, who was staring at him, his head cocked to the the side. Tsukishima _tsked_ , looking forward again. He stood up and finished stretching his ankles.

"You shouldn't want to be me. You should want to dance for you, whatever that looks like. And before you tell me to take my own advice, I guess I just had an epiphany about it."

Hinata hummed, a low, thoughtful sound. He stood up as well, shaking his muscles out. "I'm glad you still like dancing. Sometimes, I just look back on my opportunities, or the lack of them, and I don't understand how people in this world want to just give it up, or why they do things to sabotage themselves. But then I hear stories like yours, and I realize that everyone goes through different hardships. You're an amazing dancer, Tsukishima! You have beautiful, natural lines, and even though your face is so serious, it somehow complements your style. It feels like looking up at the moon on a winter night, with the air crisp on your cheeks and everything appears sharper."

Kei fiddled with his glasses. He had always thought that Hinata's dancing was sunbeams bouncing down to earth, covering everything with warmth. He wondered if maybe, subconsciously, he had taken inspiration from that.

The thought, this whole conversation, had been unexpected and something he was not emotionally prepared to handle. "We have a lot of work to do before next week, so we don't have any more time to waste. If you want to talk about feelings, go find Yamaguchi. He loves that kind of talk."

Hinata groaned. "But just so you know, after all that heart-to-heart, I'm still going to go for your position, just you wait!"

"In your dreams," Kei replied before starting the music. He had to admit that this time, the challenge sent a thrill running through his veins. 

***

"Are you nervous for tomorrow?"

Surprisingly, it was Kei asking the question. Hinata shrugged. The two of them had been hanging out later and later into the evening, although Kei insisted they stopped dancing after an hour. "It does no good to tire your muscles out," he had reprimanded, over and over. "Especially as we get closer to the performance date."

Truthfully, Kei had found these sessions with Hinata rejuvenating. He wouldn't go so far as to say that he'd found his love of dance again, but watching Hinata experience such unconstrained joy whenever he got something, or whenever Kei showed the slightest bit of approval, made Kei remember the first time he had walked into a studio, the first time he had gotten a principal role. He remembered all the secret practices he himself had gone through to try and be as good as his brother.

"I guess I am a little nervous. Who isn't? But I feel prepared, way more than I did before. And, I don't know. It's kind of awesome to be dancing along side you, Relieving in a way. But! Don't think that means we're suddenly on the same team. We're still rivals, you know."

Kei rolled his eyes. "Idiot, of course we are. You still have a lot of climbing to do to reach my level, though, so I don't feel bad passing on my knowledge to prevent you from crashing into anything. Or anyone."

"Hey!" Hinata protested, nudging his elbow into Kei's side. Usually Kei would shift away, stop the messing around before it could spiral out of control, but something inside of him felt different, more dangerous than usual. He nudged Hinata back, and soon they were trading jabs back and forth, until Kei tackled Hinata to the ground and started tickling him.

"Stop! Stop, I yield, it's not fair! You're so tall!" Hinata lay on the ground, Kei hovering over him. Hinata propped himself on his elbows, and suddenly, Kei was very aware of their position, their bodies pressed together with just their thin dance clothes between them, Hinata's face close to his, close enough that Kei could see the way his eyelashes cast shadows on his skin and the ring of darker brown in the middle of his irises. He swallowed, his eyes dipping down to Hinata's lips for the briefest second.

"Do it," Hinata whispered, tilting his chin up slightly. Kei didn't think about it, just dipped his head and met Hinata's lips with his own. 

Hinata kissed the same way he did everything else--eager and a little unrefined, but his energy was magnetic. He bunched some of Kei's shirt in his hands, pulling himself closer, so they were chest to chest, which was a feat of strength on Hinata's part.

Eventually, Hinata couldn't hold the position any longer and flopped back down to the floor. He smiled dreamily at the ceiling, then met Kei's eyes as Kei straightened onto his knees. "Still doesn't change our rivalry."

"Of course not. And I'm still going to pretend you don't exist." Kei pressed his glasses up on his nose, not sure what to do now. Probably just leave.

Hinata smiled as he sat up fully. He mirrored Kei's kneeling position, and kissed him again, hesitant, as if the first time had been a dream and he was making it more real. Kei pressed a hand to Hinata's back, to stabilize himself. He wondered how this would look on a stage, and his heart fluttered at the thought. "As long as when I'm here, with you, I'm all you think about."

Kei snorted, finally breaking away from Hinata to gather up his things. "How long have you been waiting to use that line?"

"Years, probably," Hinata said, "but it just came back to me. Pretty slick, right?"

Kei rolled his eyes. "Whatever makes you feel good about yourself. Good luck tomorrow, and _don't practice_ anymore tonight. You need to rest up."

Hinata gave him a mock salute. They walked side by side back to their dorm, where Hinata hesitated at his door. Kei quickly leaned down and pecked his cheek. "If you so much as breathe a word..."

"I know, I know, you'll deny it and make my life hell. Right. Night, Tsukishima!"

Kei didn't have time for distractions, especially with the performance looming tomorrow, but he could safely admit to himself (if to no one else) that Hinata was a welcome one.

***

"Hinata's gotten really good," Yamaguchi said as he and Kei got water after the first of their two dress rehearsals. Hinata had flagged down Suga, who was showing him how to do one of his more troublesome moves. Kei clicked his tongue against his teeth when Hinata did it better than he had in any of their practices.

"Ah, don't mind, Tsukki! Suga is an amazing teacher, and turns are his specialty!"

"I don't know what you're talking about," Kei said, hoping his tone warned Yamaguchi away from any other conversation.

"Mmm, okay, Tsukki. But, I just want to say that whoever Hinata's teacher has been the past few weeks has done a great job getting him ready for this. He probably would have failed otherwise."

Yamaguchi shrugged and ran back up to the stage before Kei could say anything snide in response.

The rest of the day dragged on. Hinata joined them for dinner, chattering away about how nervous he was, about how this was his first _real_ performance, how he was fairly sure all of the moves were going to fall out of his head. He didn't once allude to their night in the practice room, to which Kei was immensely grateful.

Kei felt a little proud of himself that he could encourage this excitement, even if it did make him want to take a nap for ten years. "It is all muscle memory at this point," he said, cutting off Hinata's rambling. Hinata stopped talking, surprised, because Kei hardly ever inserted himself into their conversations. Yamaguchi also looked over, eyes wide. Kei shifted, uncomfortable by all the attention. "And if you freak out and forget everything, none of it was my fault."

"Not at all," Hinata responded solemnly. "If it wasn't for you..."

Kei stood up, making as much noise with his chair as possible. As he left to dump his tray, he saw Yamaguchi whisper over to Hinata, probably about him. Whatever. He had to go get ready for tonight anyway.

***

"Aw, my baby brother did so great!" Akiteru said after the performance, which went off without too much of a hitch. Kei hadn't had time to talk to Hinata, but from the brief glance he had gotten of the exuberance on his face, Kei took it that his performance went well.

Kei allowed Akiteru to hug him for three seconds before shimmying out of his hold. He wanted to get this makeup off and free his hair from the gel and hairspray plastering it in place, but he knew it would probably be at least an hour until he was free to do so.

"Tsukishima! You did so great! _I_ did so great! Did you know Ms. Leroux said _congratulations_ to me?! So cool! Oh, who are you?"

Hianta had joined their group, hugging Kei for the briefest second, short enough that he couldn't say anything about it. He sneered at Hinata, about to say something, but Akiteru said, "I'm Kei's brother."

"Awesome! He talks about you all the time! I'm so glad to finally meet you!"

Kei had talked to Hinata about Akiteru a grand total of twice and never by name, but Hinata looked so happy, and Akiteru looked stunned, so Kei just said, "Yeah, whatever," and allowed the two of them to continue chatting.

Forty-five minutes later, Kei had finally extracted himself from the rest of the cast and family members. There was a cast party that he knew he would have to show his face at, but he was already looking forward to twelve hours of sleep before their performance tomorrow.

As he was pulling on a new shirt, a knock sounded at his door. He glanced at his phone. He had told Yamaguchi he would meet him in the common room at 9:30, so he wasn't sure who would be here. Sighing, he opened the door.

Hinata stood there in a baggy t-shirt and leggings. He stopped fidgeting as soon as the door opened. "Ah! Hey, Tsukishima! I was just...Are you going to the party? I know you don't really want to be seen with me, but I wanted to say congratulations, again, in private, and thanks so much because I know it wouldn't have made it this far without you, and..."

Kei reached out and pressed a hand lightly against Hinata's mouth. Hinata stopped talking, eyes wide. "You talk too much. And you're welcome. I didn't...hate helping you."

Kei dropped his hand, and Hinata smiled wide, his eyes closing with the width of it. Hinata wrapped his arms around Kei's waist. Kei hugged him back, his stomach twisting with nerves. They had kissed just the night before, but...

Hinata tilted his head up. "If you're thinking it, you should just do it."

"That's the worst advice I've ever heard." But Kei leaned down and pressed his lips to Hinata's, hesitant at first, and then with more purpose once he was sure Hinata was still fine with this. When they broke away Hinata was staring at him as if he had hung the moon in the sky.

"If you breathe a word..." Kei started.

"I know, I know, you'll deny my existence. It's okay. One day, you will be so proud of me, you'll tell everyone we're dating."

"I seriously doubt that," Kei said.

By the end of the school year, Hinata's prediction had come true. And if Kei's decision to commit himself fully to ballet for at least the rest of his school career was inspired by Hinata, he would never tell a soul.

**Author's Note:**

> Hope you like it, Jay! This was my first time writing from Tsukishima's POV so I hope it turned out okay.
> 
> As always, comments/kudos welcome!


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